"Then come with me, you're under arrest."
He seized me by the collar.
"What do you mean by arresting him?" cried Bob, jumping up from the fire.
"Are you his brother?"
"No, his friend."
"Well, a man and a boy robbed St. George's Church last night. They got up a ladder and went through the window. This dog was there to give the alarm. They were surprised in the act and in their hurry to get out by the window, the dog was left in the church. I knew that with the dog I'd be sure to find the thieves; here's one, now where's his father?"
I could not utter a word. Mattia, who had heard the talk, came out of the caravan and limped over to me. Bob was telling the policeman that I could not be guilty because I had stayed with him until one o'clock, then I went to the Old Oak Tavern and spoke to the landlord there, and came back here at once.
"It was a quarter after one that the church was entered," said the officer, "and this boy left here at one o'clock so he could have met the other and got to the church."
"It takes more than a quarter of an hour to go from here to the town," said Bob.
"On the run, no," replied the policeman, "and what proves that he left here at one o'clock?"